Passport Validity Checker

A new U.S. passport takes up to 10 weeks door to door by mail: 4–6 weeks of routine processing plus up to 2 weeks of mail each way, or up to 7 weeks expedited ($60 more). Then check the six-month rule: 101 of the 211 destinations the State Department covers ask for 6 months of validity when you arrive.

How to use it

Type the date on your passport’s photo page under “Date of expiration”, pick where you are going, and type the day you leave home and the day you get home. The answer says whether the passport is valid long enough under that country’s rule, the date it must still be valid on, how many days you have to spare (or are short), and the last day a trip of the same length could start with this passport. When it is not valid long enough, it gives the last day to apply for a new one, routine and expedited. With only an expiration date typed, it tells you until when the 6-month countries and Europe will still accept it. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

The rules, in the State Department’s words

Every destination’s rule is the State Department’s own “Valid passport requirements” line for that country, quoted under the answer with the date of the copy it was read from. Its pages now refuse automated readers, so each was read from the Internet Archive’s newest copy that loaded (May to July 2026) and is re-read at every review. They fall into a handful of kinds:

The Schengen area’s 29 countries share one rule, which the State Department states for all of them: “Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months beyond your planned departure from the EU. Ensure your passport is valid for your entire stay plus an additional 3 months.” The tool applies it to each of them, and where a country’s own line asks for more (Switzerland: “Must have minimum 6 months’ validity from date of entry.”), the stricter date decides. Several also recommend 6 months, and the answer says when yours falls short of the recommendation.

Where a line gives a length without saying from which day (just “6 months” or “Three months”, 35 of them, Egypt and Kenya among them), the tool counts from the day you arrive, the day your passport is checked, and says so.

U.S. law’s own rule: valid on the day you come home

Whatever the destination asks, 22 CFR 53.1 says “It is unlawful for a citizen of the United States, unless excepted under 22 CFR 53.2, to enter or depart, or attempt to enter or depart, the United States, without a valid U.S. passport.” A country that only checks your passport on arrival (Mexico, Canada) still leaves you needing it valid on the day you fly home, so the tool never lets the date fall before your return.

How long a new passport takes

These are the State Department’s words on its processing-time page (last updated April 16, 2026; read from its July 7, 2026 copy): “Routine processing takes 4-6 weeks. Expedited processing takes 2-3 weeks. Urgent travel requires an appointment at a passport agency and proof of international travel within 14 calendar days.” And: “It may take up to 2 weeks for your application to get to us. Add another 2 weeks for you to get your new passport after we mail it.” The same 4–6 and 2–3 weeks stood in every copy from January 2025. Its advice on timing: “Plan ahead and apply when we are less busy between October and December.”

Worked examples

Thailand in March. A passport that expires August 1, 2027, and a trip from March 10 to 24, 2027. Thailand asks for 6 months after you arrive, so the passport must be valid on September 10, 2027: it is 40 days short. Apply for a new one by December 30, 2026 (routine) or January 20, 2027 (expedited). The last trip of two weeks it covers starts February 1, 2027.

Italy in June. Expires September 1, 2027; in Italy from June 1 to 15, 2027. The Schengen rule wants 3 months after you leave the area: September 15, 2027, so 14 days short. Italy’s line also recommends 6 months (“A 6-month validity is recommended.”), which would mean December 1, 2027.

Mexico over Christmas. Expires December 24, 2026; in Mexico from December 20 to 27, 2026. Mexico only asks that it be valid when you arrive, and it is. But you fly home on the 27th, and U.S. law wants a valid passport to re-enter: 3 days short. Renew first.

Japan in April. Expires May 1, 2027; in Japan from April 1 to 12, 2027. Japan asks that it be valid for the whole stay: valid through April 12, with 19 days to spare.

Common mistakes

• Counting from the wrong day. “6 months” usually means 6 months after you arrive; Europe’s 3 months run from the day you leave. A two-week trip can move the date by two weeks.
• Checking only the country. A layover country can apply its own rule, and airlines check before you board, so check each country you pass through.
• Forgetting the trip home. A country that checks on arrival does not stop U.S. law from asking for a valid passport the day you fly back.
• Timing the renewal to processing alone. Processing is 4–6 weeks, but the mail can add up to 2 weeks each way: 10 weeks in all by mail.
• Relying on six months as “plenty”. Singapore, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and four more count their 6 months from the day you leave.

Plan the trip

Read International Travel Tips for First-Timers before a first trip abroad, and keep what to do if you lose your passport abroad handy. Short on time before a Caribbean trip? Some Caribbean islands need no passport at all, and the carry-on packing list starts with it. Then check the visa rules for your destination, whether your trip needs a passport at all, and your 90 days in Europe.